July 1, 2012

There are 51 people total in our group.  We had two different flights from Birmingham on Saturday to Atlanta and others met us there.  We all left on the same flight from Atlanta at about 1730 est and arrived in Lima at 2315 cst.  Customs was packed with arriving flights and we didn't get out of the airport til about 0100.  Temperature was somewhere in the 60's.  We headed to the Sheraton about 30min away with traffic to what I'd call the business district.  Along the way we took some sketchy backroads and one thing I noticed was how much trash was on the streets and sidewalks.  We all got into our rooms by 0200 and had to meet back in the lobby by 0330 to head back to the airport for our flight out to Iquitos.  One thing I noticed was how clean the streets were now.  They don't clean the streets with streetsweeper trucks, rather by hand with a broom and large dustpan.  Trash was now collected into little piles I guess to be picked up later, but the streets were now super clean.  So our flight to Iquitos left at 0700 and we arrived at about 0845.  I'll post a video of the approach.  Below are some pics of the Andes and the Amazon River and our plane at the airport.  Temperature here is not as hot as it was when we left Birmingham.  There is one road from the airport to downtown Iquitos.  Only one road leads out of Iquitos to a national reserve about 115 km away.  Everything else is by river or plane.  Humidity is around 80+ percent and temps in the 80's and so much more tolerable than Alabama right now.  We all got to our rooms by 1130.  The hotel is really quite nice; air conditioning and cold water.  Plumbing is fragile.  All in all we've got it pretty good.  My two roomates, Cameron from Tuscaloosa and Stepen from Macon skipped lunch at noon to get some sleep.  The entire group met in the lobby at 1530 to head out to a welcome service at a local church to meet the pastors from other surrounding churches we will work with this week.

I'll post a few videos from the service.  Every time I go to a mission trip my spirit gets renewed.  Service began with worship music and my heart melted and I was filled with overwhelming emotion.  It's hard to describe.  I get pumped up and excited and at the same time it's something that would drive you to teary eyes.  Most of the music was sung in Spanish, and though I couldn't understand it you could definitely feel it.  The pastor of the church led us all in song.  Look in the videos that I post and notice the drummer and it't the pastor's 10 year old daughter.  Notice the keyboard player and that is his 12 year old daughter and the lady in the center is his wife.  Some of the songs we sang are the very songs I was first introduced to in my mission trips back in the USA and from all the Catholic youth conferences I've been to.  To hear such familiar songs shared among denominations is enough to give you goose bumps and get you pumped up.  It was an amazing evening and definitely enjoyed by all.  Just take a look at the videos.

We went back to the hotel at about 1900.  We took the local mode of transportation; tricycles.  Again check out the videos.  My weight definitely seemed to affect the power but we did make it just fine to our destinations, even if everyone did seem to pass us.  We walked down 2 blocks from the hotel to eat dinner; baked chicken, french fries, and cole slaw, which were intstructed not to eat as vegetables are washed with the local water supply which apparently is not trustworthy and a potential enemy to your GI tract.  The food was great as was the Inca Cola !

So tomorrow starts our first clinic day.  I am in Group A and we will be heading to a region called Leticia (sp ?).  Look out for my post tomorrow !

So initially I've been too tired to be anxious about anything.  Then after the welcome service, anxiety didn't even have a chance.  Things have gone well so far for this trip.  No real surprises.  Everyone has been healthy and in uplifting spirits despite the travel exhaustion.  God is here ! It's great to be here with this great team !  I do miss my family and friends back home.  I hope what I post you can share in the excitement.

Off to bed I go....the day begins at 0600 with breakfast.
Peace !